Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

Very disappointing...

Simply A Masterpiece

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This movie is such a hoot!!! It was very entertaining, and some scenes were LOL funny. Well worth watching!!

Anyone who loves Hollywood screwball comedies will find this film a revelation. Ruggles of Red Gap is one of the most obscure treasures of Hollywood's screwball comedy era of the 1930s. It boasts a sterling cast led by the stupendously multi-faceted Charles Laughton, as well as hilarious character actors, Charlie Ruggles (a name coincidence)and Zasu Pitts. It has razor sharp dialogue, acrobatic physical comedy, and a growing sweetness that leaves one feeling better about life at the end. Laughton and the other actors make this possible by imbuing their characters with subtle, three-dimensional traits that make you love them, laugh at them, and root for them. Find a way to dig this one out of the mothballs, via Amazon (you can rent it for $3 bucks), or another vendor. It's truly a little gem!

I'm probably petty, but I find it difficult to enjoy films that star actors or actresses I really think I would intensely dislike. A good example of this is Charles Laughton. He's creepy. BUT...every once in a while a film of his will play on TCM and I will be transfixed by his performances -- "This Land Is Mine" and "The Paradine Case" being two examples. Now I must add another -- "Ruggles Of Red Gap". What a gem of a film, and what a gem of a performance by Laughton.This is a particularly good film for 3 reasons. First, a top-notch story. Second, a top-notch cast. Third, because it has as its underlying purpose a kudo to American democracy and individual freedom.In regard to the story, it's more than it might appear at first glance. First there's two very different characters -- a British manservant and an American cowboy-type, who each have to adjust to each other. You might say Bob Hope did that in one of his films. Yes, but there it was one man adjusting. Here, both very different men are adjusting to each other and to different worlds. And then it settles down into will a Brit be accepted in the American West? In regard to the cast, as already mentioned, Charles Laughton is magnificent here, and a semi-comedy is so much different for him. This is also an excellent part for Charles Ruggles; we often see him as sort of a mix between an uncouth cowboy and a man of some standing...not the sort of natty character he often portrayed. Mary Boland as his uppity wife did well, although her character is annoying. It was a pleasure to see the offbeat ZaSu Pitts in a bigger role than unusual, and as a love interest! Roland Young as a Brit...well, I never understood the attraction to him as an actor...and I still don't.In regard to the patriotic aspect of this story, there was a time when unbridled patriotism was something to be proud of it. And here a "foreigner" finds acceptance simply because he is what he is, not because of who he is. He is fascinated with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and spellbinds the patrons of a saloon by reciting it. And after all is said and done, the Brit becomes a jolly good fellow to the semi-cowboys of the town.It's difficult to find much to criticize here. But a lot to like. Highly recommended.

CHARLES LAUGHTON plays a staid British butler who is brought to western U.S.A. (which he imagines is still highly uncivilized), to act as a valet for the incorrigible hick CHARLIE RUGGLES. Indeed, Laughton is so subdued for most of his role that it's Ruggles who manages to steal their scenes together with his "Yahoos" and broadly comic playing.MARY BOLAND, as Charlie Ruggles' pretentious wife, matches him for broad comedy style while the other supporting performances are a bit more realistic. But Laughton's butler commands the spotlight in a quiet, more restrained way than usual. His expressions have endless variety and there's a gleam in his eyes when he's amused. Director Leo McCarey allows for one highly sentimental moment--which seems to be a staple of any Leo McCarey film. This time, it's Laughton reciting The Gettysburg Address in a saloon, where he captures the intense concentration of all the noisy patrons the moment he begins to recite Lincoln's address.Actually, it's a highly implausible moment but McCarey prepares the viewer for it by making it clear that everyone else in the saloon has forgotten whatever it was that Lincoln said. Still, it seems too stylized and dramatic a moment to mesh with the rest of the story, but it's meant to establish that Laughton gets what the great statesmen meant about all men being created equal.ZASU PITTS is charming and fluttery as a servant who attracts Laughton's attention and to whom he lends some culinary advice.The script lags here and there while telling a rather rambling tale about the exploits of these people, but the performances are all first rate and command the attention throughout.